Changing Heart
by mysexeyedwardcullen
Summary: Kagome has been adopted by the Lord of the Eastern Lands. Now a war is coming upon them. All the Lands are gathering to fight agianst the enemy. The Lord of the Werst wants something in return for helping. Kag must marry Sess? What will happen? plz read
1. Prologue

_It was a dark night and the rain had been worse than ever. Kagome was young and was running away from her father. She had the last of his beatings. He scared her so bad tonight that when he was finished with her she ran. She was cold and she was getting tired. She had no idea how long she had been running but she knew that she must be getting close to something that would give her shelter. She just had to get somewhere dry and warm. She kept on going as it got colder and colder. She could barely see her own two feet as she walked. She wrapped her arms around her to get herself warm. _

_ As she took her next step she slipped and fell hard on to the ground. She got up to keep going. He was the only thing driving her to keep going. She had to get away. She had to no choice. As it grew darker the rain grew colder till it felt as though small blades were striking her in every direction and place she went. _

_ Ryuu was working in his study. It had been a very long day but he knew he had to get everything done. He kept on working until he heard a knock at the door. He looked up at it thankful for an excuse to take a break from all this paper work. _

"_Enter" he stated flatly._

_ A young women entered the room with a smile on her face as she saw him. She walked over to only be at least four feet away from his desk. _

"_Darling, when are you going to come to bed and out of this room? You have been in it all day", stated the young women with a soft smile._

"_Soon Saika; I am almost done with everything." Ryuu said smiling to his mate. He loved her so much. _

"_Very well, I shall wait up for you. Do not take too long dear." With that said she left the room and closed the door. _

_ Ryuu then went back to his paper work. After a few hours he was almost done when he felt something enter his territory. He then stopped what he was doing and focuses on what he just felt. It was hard to tell what had just entered his territory. This did not sit well with him. He could always tell what entered and left his territory. He immediately got out of his chair and walked out his study. He then uses his demon speed to reach the location of where this creature or thing had entered his lands. He was almost there when he heard the sound of something falling onto the wet grass. _

_ Kagome had walking for what seemed to be like hours to her. Her eye sight began to go away. She kept on walking though. She still had no idea where she was going but she was in pain for the sleet, she was cold, tired, and hungry. She just knew she had to be getting close to something that would shelter her. Right when she thought this she slipped and fell again. She tried to get up only to fall back down on the cold and wet ground. _

_ She kept trying to get up only to fail every time. She then decided it was of no use. She laid there ready for whatever was going to find her. She didn't care anymore. She was ready to die right here and now if it meant to get away from that man._

_ Ryuu listened a little longer only to hear the creature keep on falling in the same spot. He then heard it got quiet. He assumed that the creature had finally given up. He walked over to it slowly keeping his hand on his sword. He wanted it to be his last option but he had no idea what he was going up against. As he walked closer he saw a small girl laying on the ground soaking wet. He then bent down to have a closer look. Her eyes were closed and she was shaking. He softly put his hand on the small girls for head only to confirm what he already thought. He then gently pick up the girl and used his speed to quickly bring her back to his castle. He went straight to the guest room closes to his. He called in for a servant and to her to get his wife, a healer, and to tell the cook to make something warm to eat. Saika was there in a matter of minutes. _

"_Ryuu what is going on?" she stated on to find her husband with a small child in his arms. "Oh my, what happened to her?"_

"_I do not know. Here you take her and get her out of these clothes while I go try to find something for her to wear."_

"_Yes, of course dear." Saika then took the child from his arms and laid her down gently on the bed. She then called in a servant and had her help her take the wet clothes off of her. Ryuu returned in a matter of minutes with dry clothes for the child to wear in hand. Saika then took them from her husband and put them on the child. Saika then sent the servant out and placed her under the covers of the bed. _

_ Next thing they knew the healer had walked in to check on the child. The old women asked for them to leave the room so that she could do a check on her. About thirty minutes later she came out saying that she just had a cold and that all she need was rest and good food._

_ After a few days Kagome finally woke up only to see a young youki women right next to her. Kagome then shot straight up in the bed only to be greeted by a head ache and having to lie down again. _

"_Ah, I see you have finally decided to wake up," said Saika in a gentle voice. "I would not get up so quick though my dear. You are perfectly safe here. Just relax so you don't get another head ache ok?"_

_ Kagome look at the beautiful youki and just nodded her head. She let herself then get a good look at her. She truly was beautiful. She had long blonde hair that went all the way past her hips. Her hair also had a slight wave to it. She kept on observing the young youki finding that her skin looked smooth and delicate to the touch. It was a soft tan color and it allowed her green marking to look more beautiful. She had a leaf on her right wrist and some other marking she could not see on her neck. All she could tell was that it was not the same colors as the other markings. All her other markings looked like swirls and patterns that danced from her wrist to who knows where. She then noticed her eyes were a pink color. As Kagome looked into them she saw that they were soft and welcoming. She also saw a strength, wisdom, and protectiveness in them as well. Her kimono was a light green with pink patterns dancing all over it. It looked very beautiful on her. _

_ Kagome then felt more relaxed and looked at the ceiling. Once she did this she heard the door open and close. She looked towards the direction from where she heard the noise to find a strong youki man walking over to the young youki women. As he walked over Kagome began to study him. He was very tall and you could tell he was very strong. He had long brown hair which was pulled back into a brade. His eyes were a dark green. Kagome felt as if she was being swallowed into them as she stared into them. She saw so many things through his eyes. She saw power, strength, trust, determination, love, compassion, faith, hope, peace, and so much more. But one thing that stood out the most right now was kindness and concern. His skin was a dark tan and he had a red seal looking shade at the base of his neck. His kimono was dark blue with green patterns covering it. She could also see that he had his armor on and with three swords strapped to his side._

_ She watched as he walked over to the young youki and began talking. Kagome suddenly became nervous not knowing what to expect. 'What were they going to do to me?' she thought to herself. 'What are they talking about? Ok, ok, calm down Kagome nothing is going to happen to you just take a deep breath.'_

"_Little girl," stated a strong and powerful voice._

_ Kagome slowly sat up in the bed to make sure she didn't give herself another head ache. She then turned to face the youki that said that to her. _

"_Yes," Kagome stated nervously._

"_How are you feeling?"_

"_Um, well thank you so much. Who are you?"_

"_I am Lord Ryuu __Watanabe and this is my wife and mate Mrs. Saika Watanabe. What is your name?"_

"_I am Kagome Higurashi."_

"_How old are you dear?" asked Saika in a concern voice._

"_I am ten years old."_

"_What were you doing crossing my territory and in such bad weather?" asked Ryuu._

"_Territory?"_

"_Yes, I am Lord of the Eastern Lands."_

"_I was running away from my father my Lord. He has been beating me for all my life and I decided to run away from it that night. Please do not send me back! I will do anything, please just do not send me back!!"_

"_Calm down child, I will not send you back if that is not what you wish. But you do need to live somewhere. Do you have any other family?"_

"_No I do not."_

"_I will see what I can do then. Please rest. As soon as you are well enough to move about Saika as agreed to be by your side."_

"_Thank you."_

_ Ryuu then left them alone to get to know each other while he made his way back to his study to find out if she had any family. He worked for many days trying to find out if she had any family out there besides her father only to find that there was none just as she said. They all spent as much time with her as they could. Saika the most and soon Kagome was well enough to move around the castle and help Saika with anything she needed. What had grown into a few days and grown into a few months. Saika and Ryuu then sat down and decided that they would adopt Kagome cause they had grown to love her as their own child. Saika was the most excited when Ryuu suggested this. Once they told Kagome she became very happy and promised to be the best she could be. Ryuu was glad to hear this and told her that she would be the one taking over her territory when she was old enough. Kagome felt honored that he would do this for her. _

_Years went on and Kagome had grown into a woman and had developed abilities and that no one could have imagined. She became very close to Ryuu and Saika as if they were her birth parents. She loved Ryuu so much and admired him greatly. He loved her as a true daughter and spent every second he could with her and Saika. They were all one big happy family but things were not as great outside the castle. All the territories had been fighting a great enemy for a few months now. They had no idea what they were up against but they knew that they had to be stopped. The Eastern territory was the second strongest military power. Ryuu then suddenly became very busy in protecting the lands. And this is where our story begins._


	2. Chapter 1

Hey everyone, ok just so yall know. Someone pointed out to me that my computer auto corrected wench to wrench. So thank you ditchertypepersonBUM for telling. I went back and tried to fix them all. So I am sorry if I missed one. But please enjoy the story and tell me what you think :) I really worked hard on it and I sorry cause there are probably millions of corrects on this but I dont have anyone to help me correct it. So if you think you have time and want to help that would be great. Well anyway here is the story. :D

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15 YEARS LATER

It had been a long and hard day. Kagome had woken up and gotten dressed for the day just as usual. As she made her way to the dining room for breakfast she greeted the servants that walked by. Once she reached the dining room she found that it would only be her and Saika again. Ryuu had been working very hard lately and has not had any time to spend with them. Saika kept a strong face but Kagome could tell that she really missed seeing him as much as she did. The day went on pretty much the same as any. Her and Saika worked together, talked, and played around. They had a nice lunch and talked about all sort of things.

It was about dinner time and Saika decided she would go see Ryuu to see if he would be dinning with them tonight. Kagome decided that she would give them some time alone so she went to the library. It was peaceful there. She always felt safe there. She had read a great deal of books since she had been there. Kagome started walking through the rows of books. Now and again she would see one that brought back so many memories. She kept on walking not really sure of what kind of book she was looking for. She looked outside seeing that she had a couple of hours till dinner time and decided to just grab the first book that caught her eye. As she walked, nothing really grabbed her attention. She had walked through so many of rows by now, and she was starting to get annoyed. Then she spotted a bright red cover. She walked over and picked up the book. She then walked back by the chairs in front of the fire and began to read.

Saika knocked her husband's door and entered. She found him hard at work and she couldn't help but smile. When he looked up he was greeted by her smile, and couldn't help but smile back. She walked over behind him gracefully, and place her hands on his shoulders as she began to give him a massage. He started to relax and closed his eyes.

"You have been working hard I see."

"Yes, well something is not right," he stated as he reopened his eyes to look at the document in his hands.

"What do you mean dear?"

A long silence drew out and his face suddenly became cold. He leaned his head against the chair trying to relax as his wife gave him a massage.

"I fear the worse."

"Why? What is going on? You have been in this room for months. Tell me what is going on. I am the Lady of the Eastern Lands and your wife and mate. Tell me what is going on that has your attention everyday to where your daughter and I barely get to see you anymore.

"The Lord of the Southern lands has turned against us I'm afraid and going to start a war."

"Oh, my. What do the other Lords have to say about this?"

"They have reached the same conclusion I have. We need to fight back. There is no other way. Lord Naraku has gotten himself involved in some sort of power. It is too strong for one land to fight off by its self. We are going to have to join forces. The Lord of the North had agreed to join forces with me but the Lord of the West is still deciding I'm afraid. There is one thing though, if something happens to me Kagome would have to take over but she would need a man by her side."

"I see. Well you don't need to worry so much about Kagome dear. She is very strong. As for the Northern Lord we will do all we can to help you."

"Thank you dear."

"Yes, well it is time for dinner now so how about you come and eat dinner with your family."

"Very well," Ryuu said while smiling at his wife.

Ryuu stood up and started walking around his desk that he was working at. He then offered his arm to his wife which she gladly took. They started making their way towards the dining room. They walked in complete silence just enjoying each other's company. After a few minutes of walking they finally got to the dining room. Ryuu and Saika made their way towards the table. Ryuu then offered her the seat next to his. They sat down and Saika began telling him everything that he had missed since he had been working. Ryuu laughed at both Saika and Kagome for some of the stuff they had done. They both sat there laughing and talking until a maid came out with their food. After they dismissed the maid they started to eat.

"Where is Kagome Saika?" asked Ryuu in a curious voice.

Saika laughed and looked at her husband. "You know Kagome dear. She is probably in the library reading a book she found. You know it is all your fault that she is like that," she answered still laughing quietly.

Ryuu laughed in return and smile. "Yes, you are probably right."

"I'm sure she will be here shortly."

As soon as she had said that Kagome walked through the door with a book in her hands.

"Father!" she exclaimed happily as she ran towards him with open arms allowing her book to fall on the floor. Ryuu stood up quickly allowing her to wrap her arms around him and him wrapping his arms around her to hug her back.

"Ok, Kagome time to eat and let your father eat. He has been very busy and he needs to eat something. Even though he is a demon he needs food in his stomach. And you young lady need to eat also. Kagome laughed in reply pulling herself away from her father and taking her seat to eat. Ryuu sat down and began eating again.

"So Kagome I see you have found another book to read," Ryuu stated as one of the maids picked it up and handed it to him. He then handed it to Kagome with a smile on his face. "Do tell us what it is about so far."

"It is hard to explain father. But it truly is a wonderful book," Kagome said as she smiled.

"Well then, give us a summary dear. I'm sure you can do that," Saika stated.

"Well, it is a romance. It is so sweet. It is about a girl who has fallen in love with a prince but she is a village girl. She is doing everything she can to get him to notice her. And right now he is starting too. There is a lot more than that going on but you would have to read it to understand. It gets very complicated. And for some reason I don't think she really is a village girl."

"I see you were always one of those girl that loved romance stories," Saika said while smiling.

"Yes, she was. I remember when she was a small girl she always loved those little romance stories that I read to her," Ryuu said as he thought back.

"I remember that too," Kagome said smiling. "So father what exactly have you been working on? Oh do tell."

"You will find out soon my dear. But, it is not good. The Lord of the South has turn against us. I'm not sure of what is going to happen."

"But what about the other Lords and the Governors and Governances?" asked Kagome.

"As of now all of the Northern territories have agreed to join forces with us. As for the Southern only a few have the courage to join."

"What about the Western?"

"They have not decided yet I'm afraid."

"Oh, I see. Don't worry father I'm sure everything will work out."

"I hope you are right Kagome."

Just as he had finished his sentence there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," stated Saika.

"My Lady, my Lord there is a letter for you form the Lord of the West."

"Ah, thank you please give it to me now."

The maid then walked over and gave him the letter so he could read it. Once he got the letter in his hands he told the maid to leave. He then began to open the letter. He then read the letter to himself as Kagome and Saika looked at him eagerly waiting to see what the letter said. Ryuu then finished the letter and began to rub his forehead like he had a headache.

"Well darling what does it say?"

Ryuu looked up at them with concerned eyes. He then directed all his attention to Kagome.

"The Lord of the West has agreed to join forces."

"Oh, that is great father!"

"Yes, it is darling."

"But, there is a catch?"

"What is it dear?"

"He will only join if Kagome marries his eldest son."

"What kind of joke is this?!" Kagome exclaimed in an angry voice.

"Calm down Kagome."

"Oh, father please try to convince him otherwise. Please father, I beg you. I am not ready to be married. There is still so much I want to do."

"Ryuu does he even know that Kagome is not a demon?"

"No, he does not. No one knows but our subjects in this castle."

"Oh dear, what are we going to do Ryuu?"

"There is only one thing we can do. Kagome will have to merry his eldest son."

"But, father!"

"No buts Kagome. I am truly sorry, but this is the only way that we can make sure that this war goes right. Please Kagome for mother, our subjects, and for me."

Kagome pause for awhile thinking of everything that she had just found out and everything that had just happened. She sat there thinking long and hard. She was the princess of this land and she had to take care of it. Plus, father said that the Lord of the West did not even know that she is human. Not only that but Kagome had heard about his eldest son. He is said to hate humans. Not only that but he is very handsome, strong, smart and much more things. Many girls have thrown themselves at him, and some he took for a little while, others he just ignored. There is no way he would even look twice at her. Another thing she heard was his cold personality. So over all there was no chance that he or his father would accept her. But she had to try for her family and her father's subjects.

"Very well father. I will do it for you."

"Thank you Kagome. We will leave to see the Lord of the West and his son tomorrow. So make sure you pack tonight."

They finished eating and went straight to packing. To them hours seemed like minutes. By the time they had finished eating, packing, going to sleep, and waking up they had already started making their way to the Western Lands. It had taking them days to reach the castle of the Western Lord. But they finally got there. They all got out of their carriages and started making their way to front of the castle. Maids had run out and gathered their belongings. Kagome and Saika made their way to their rooms while Ryuu made his was to see the Lord of the West.

When Kagome reached her room she decided she would freshin up and change into something for presentable. She found the bath that was in her room and quickly undressed and stepped into the warm water. It felt so good. She began to relax and allowed the warmth to take over her. She then realized that at this moment she did not know when her father would call upon her so she washed herself and got out. She quickly went to closet to see that the maids had put all her clothes in there. She began to look through trying to find something to wear. She decided that she would wear is light blue kimono that had purple and white flowers dancing all across it. Making haste she went to a mirror and grabbed a brush. She began brushing her long black raven hair and put it up in a bun. She stepped back to take a look at herself. Liking what she did she sat down in the chair that was in the room and decided to take in her surroundings. The walls were white and there was nice dark wooden floors that. Her bed was quiet large with white and blue covers. The windows had blue curtains. All of the wooden furniture was a dark wood like the floors and had creative designs on it. The chair she was sitting in was blue. She also noticed a white rug under the bed. She took a liking to the room. She then decided it was time to relax until her father came and to get her. So she took out the book she had brought and began to read.

It had been hours later when Kagome finally heard a knock at her door. She got up from her seat and walked over to the door. She opened it to find her father standing there. She stepped aside allowing her father to come in.

"Yes, father?"

"Kagome you look lovely," Ryuu said as he kissed on the forehead.

"Thank you father, so when will I see the Lord of the West?"

"Lord Inu No Taishou has decided to meet you during dinner with his eldest son and his wife InuKimmi. Dinner is in ten minutes. I was just able to leave from talking to him and your mother. So I am sorry that I am just telling you. But, if there is anything you want to do please do it now. I will see you at dinner." Ryuu exited the room and started making his way to his room again to see his wife.

"Yeah there is something I want to do. How about run away from all of this." Kagome thought to herself. "Oh well, no since in turning back now."

Kagome then waited about five minutes. She then straightened herself up and began walking out the door. When she closed the door and turned around she run into something hard. She fell backwards onto her butt.

"Oh, what did I run into?" Kagome looked up only to find amber eyes looking straight into hers. It was a tall young demon. He had long beautiful silver hair and he wore a white kimono with blue and purple patterns on it. Over that laid his arm. He had two swords strapped to his waist. His skin was pale but beautiful. She could see markings on his face and wrist. They were amazing. She loved the crescent moon on his forehead the most. She just wanted to go over and trace it with her fingers.

"Watch where you are going wench. Are you just going to sit there and be silent or are you going to get up and apologize for running into me?" he questioned in a stern cold voice.

Kagome then got up quickly and straightened herself out once again and looked at this hot…not even hot but sexy demon.

"I'm terribly sorry. I did not see…wait just one minute!"

"What gives you the right to call me a wench?!"

"I do not have to have a right. I can call you whatever I want wench. Watch your tone with me or I will cut your tongue out."

"How dare you! You have no right to treat a guest this way! You should apologize to me!"

"I apologize to no one, especially a human."

"Oh, yes you will."

"Is that a challenge?"

"What if it is? Are you going to accept it or run away from it?"

"I run from nothing. We will see who apologizes to whom."

"Oh, yes we will!"

"I have somewhere I need to be so till again wench."

And in a blink of an eye he was gone. Kagome stood there dumb founded. Anger was following out of her as she made her way to the dining room. Everyone she pasted could feel the anger rolling off of her like is was nature. As she reached the door she stood there and composed herself before entering. She was on time which was a good thing for her. She then knocked on the door and entered. As she walked in she was greeted by her father who stood up and walked her over to the seat next to her mother and seated her. When she looked up she couldn't believe herself. She was sitting in front of the very demon she had just challenged. His face was emotionless. But she knew that he was smirking on the inside as well as being confused. She was confused as well. She then turned to face her father when she had heard him call her name.

"Kagome this is Lord Taishou and his wife and mate Lady InuKimmi."

Kagome nodded at them and smiled. "How do you do?" she stated in a sweet calm voice.

"It is very nice to finally meet you Lady Kagome. We are doing quite well thank you."

Kagome smiled and looked around. She notice Lady Kimmi, she was breath taking. She was so beautiful. Compared to Lady Kimmi she must be the ugliest thing in this room. Lady Kimmi noticing that Kagome was looking at her smiled. Kagome smiled back. Kagome then notice that there was another boy in between Lady Kimmi and that demon. He had long silver hair and golden eyes. She also noticed that he had dog ears. That's when it hit her. He looked a lot like Lord Taishou but also different. And the demon she was sitting across from look almost the exact same as Lord Taishou.

"Oh, no which on is the eldest?" Kagome thought to herself.

"Lady Kagome let me introduce you to my sons. The one sitting next to my wife his my youngest son Inuyasha."

He looked at her and nodded. Kagome did the same and then met eyes with the demon across from her.

"The one sitting next to Inuyasha is my eldest Sesshomaru."

He looked at her with cold emotionless eyes. Kagome wanted so badly to squirm in her seat but she knew he would notice so she kept composed and then it hit her. This was the demon she was supposed to marry. But before she could say anything Sesshomaru spoke first.

"Father how could you believe that I would marry a human?" his for cold and dripping with venom.

"I'm sorry son we just found out ourselves but she will do even better than you think."

"I refuse to marry a human. A human father. I am the most powerful demon sitting here and you expect me to marry a human?" his voice becoming colder and more harsh. "She is weak and unworthy to even stand by my side." Before Lord Taishou could even answer Kagome jumped in.

"How dare you! You don't even know me or even what I am capable of and you are going to sit there and insult me?! I will not have it."

"And what are you going to do about it wench?"

"Do not call me that!"

"I will call you what I please."

"No, you will not! I have rights and I deserve respect. Whether you want to give it to me or not you will!"

"How dare you challenge this Sesshomaru twice in one day."

"You are the one who is making this difficult!" Kagome said with anger filling her voice more than she wanted it to.

"I will not marry a human, especially you."

"Just you complaining about this shows that you are weak and afraid! If you were really as powerful as you say you would just go with the marriage and not say a word!"

Just as she said that Inuyasha spit out his drink and Lord Taishou eyes widened. Inuyasha began to roar in laughter. And couldn't stop. Lady Kimmi had a smirk on her face as she listened to the whole thing.

"How dare you insult this Sesshomaru," he said as voice filled with venom.

"Oh, she so got you there," Inuyasha said between laughs. "I like her father. Great choice for him."

"Indeed," Lord Taishou stated.

Sesshomaru then looked at his father and an idea sprung into his head. He would so enjoy this after all. He then composed himself and looked at his father.

"Very well, father I will marry this wench."

"Kagome?" Lord Taishou said with a questioning eyes.

"I will marry this demon," she stated with venom.

"Then it is decided," Lord Taishou exclaimed. "Now lets eat."

They all ate for a few moments in silence. Until the adults carried in conversation while Kagome talked to Inuyasha and Sesshomaru listened.

"So Kagome how is that you became the heir to Eastern Lands?" asked Inuyasha in a curious voice.

"That is personal if you don't mind. But I will tell you when I am ready."

"Very well, that is ok with me. So Kagome what do you like to do?"

"Well, I really enjoy reading. Um, I will pretty much do just about anything but I do love fighting. I usually train with our soldiers back at home."

"Really?! Aren't your soldiers the second strongest in all the Lands?"

"Yes, they are," Kagome said with a smile.

The rest of dinner carried off in conversation everyone talking except for Sesshomaru but they assured Kagome that that was normal. After a few hours of talking, laughing, and eating it all came to an end. Everyone said good night and started making their way to their rooms. Just as Kagome got into her room and closed that door she heard it open and close again quietly. She turned around quickly to find amber eyes staring right into her bright blue eyes.

"What are you doing here?! Get out this is my room!"

Sesshomaru then slammed her against a wall and covered her mouth.

"Ah, but this is my castle."

He then uncovered her mouth and looked at her. Her face was red. He then pinned her arms above her head and started bending his head down toward her neck. He could smell the change in mood. He liked it.

"What are you doing?! Get away from me or I will scream! I promise you I will!"

Sesshomaru then gently kissed her neck and she breathed in. He started placing kisses all over her neck liking her response from it.

"Stop it. Please stop." Kagome said.

He then took one of his hands and started lifting her kimono as he dragged his hand up her leg.

"Apologize for earlier and your insults during dinner and I will stop," he stated with a smirk on his face.

Kagome could not believe it. He was doing all of this for an apology. Oh, he so was not going to get one.

"No," she stated to him.

He smirk at her and said "Very well then." He then he started bring his mouth towards hers but then stopped. He then let her fall to the ground with a thud. "Until next time wench."

Kagome sat there as she watched him leave and she just couldn't believe it. He did all of that. Got her all worked up and then he just left. He was going to pay big time for that. She was going to make sure of that.

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Thank you for reading. Please review. If I get some reviews I will update chapter 3 quicker.


	3. Chapter 2 Note

Hello readers!! Bad news is that is not a chapter I am sorry. I am so sorry about the delay on chapter 2. School has been…well you all know school. Let's just say I have been really busy with that and other things. I am so sorry that it has taken me this long to do this. Well for the good news is that I am writing chapter 2 and I will try to have it up by the end of this week or next. If I do not get it up by any of those dates please forgive me. I am trying and I am writing. So I have wrote this that way all of the people who are reading this, who I really thank and so much more, know that chapter 2 is coming and I am not just stopping. I really do want to thank all the people who are reading this. I was really afraid that no one would read it and the people who have read it and are commenting are making me want to continue writing. I am not just saying that. I am sorry to ask this but the people who are reading and/or like the story and want to see it continued could you comment on this that way I know how many people are waiting for an update. Even if you are the type of person who doesn't like to comment could you please. I will help me update faster. I am just saying. Well thank you all. I hope I get feedback from this :D

Until the update,

msec


	4. Chapter 2

Hello everyone! So sorry that I am late on the update. I really am. Well I hope you enjoy this chapter and I apologize for any mistakes I made. I am doing this all on my own so it is getting difficult. Well any way tell me what you think and review. The more reviews I see the fast I should update. I thank everyone who is reading this story. It means a lot to me.

* * *

It had been days since Kagome had seen Sesshomaru. She continued to plan on how she was going to get back at him. She was not going to let him get away that easily. There was no way. She woke up this morning expecting it to be like every other day. She got up and made her way to bath. She made sure she grabbed another kimono to change in to. As she walked into the bath she could already feel her body waking up from the rest she just had. She took a deep breath and took off her night kimono. She then gracefully slipped into the water, allowing its heat to consume her. She felt all her muscles relax. She sat there for a long while before she started to wash her body. Once she did she got out and changed into a robe so she could dry her hair. After she dried her hair and fixed it up she changed into the kimono she would be wearing for today. It was a brown kimono with red and green swirls and patterns dancing around it. She likes this kimono the most because it reminded her of her parents.

She started making her way to the dining hall so she could have her breakfast. As she was walking she was greeted by some of the people in the castle that she had seen before or ones that had helped her. She was starting to like it here besides the fact of that arrogant demon. She really did not know how she was going to get back at him. She did not even know him. So she knew of no way how to get back at him. She decided that when the opportunity presented itself, he would more than surely feel her wrath. But, for now she would pretend that it did not happen. Which she thought would probably irritate him more. By the time she came up with this decision she had found herself at the front door of the dining hall. She gave a soft knock and walked in. She found her parents, Lord Taishou, Lady Kimmi and Inuyasha were already seated. She gave a small bow and took her seat next to her mother. When she looked around she then noticed that Sesshomaru was not there. A smile came across her face as she began to relax. They all sat in silence until the servants came with their food.

The silence was really awkward to Kagome. Every meal she had ever had with her parents they talked and laughed. But here it seems like they preferd to eat in silences. That was until Lord Taishou broke the silence.

"I hope you all are enjoying your visit here," he stated looking at Ryuu.

"Oh yes, very much. I must say that you have a wonderful kingdom here Taishou."

"Well, thank you very much. Say, would you like to take a ride with me around the kingdom after lunch? I have some matters that need my attention; but after that I am free."

"I would not mind at all."

"Great, we meet at the stables about ten till."

Ryuu and Taishou continued to have small talk as other conversations started to begin.

"Lady Saika would you like to take a tour with me around the garden and then maybe to the art gallery?" asked Kimmi.

"Oh, I would love too. Thank you Lady Kimmi. It would be an honor."

As the adults began to talk Kagome stat there quietly listening to what was being said. She suddenly became more comfortable knowing that they do talk as other families do. She remembered her mother telling her that some of the royal families do not get along quiet well. And Kagome became relieved that this was not one of those families. She smiled at the scene before her, wishing that one day she could have a family like this. But then she realized who was marrying and became discouraged because she knew that she could not have a family like that with that arrogant demon. A frowned crossed her face as she looked back down at her food losing her appetite. As she started poking at her food she heard her name being called.

"Hey Kagome? You still here?" stated a male voice.

Kagome quickly shot her head up to see Inuyasha staring at her.

"Oh yes, sorry Inuyasha I was just thinking."

"I could tell," Inuyasha stated with a small laugh.

"See, why couldn't his brother be more like him?' Kagome thought to herself; as she replied to Inuyasha with a smile.

"Have you had a proper tour of the castle yet?"

"No, I have not," Kagome stated with a smile.

"Would you like one?"

"I would!" Kagome exclaimed getting excited.

"Alright then, how about after we finish eating I give you a tour of the castle?" Inuyasha replied with a small laugh.

"That would be great! Thank you Inuyasha."

"No problem."

Kagome then found her appetite to eat again. As she ate her food she was trying very hard not to shove it all down in one bite. The most she had seen of the castle was her room and the dining hall. She had been staying in her room trying to finish the books she brought. Now that she finished all of them she was wanting to find a library; but, she was not sure where it was. Now that Inuyasha was offering to show her around, she knew she would find the library and get to see the beautiful castle.

When everyone finished eating Kagome got up eagerly. Only to find Inuyasha was already waiting by the door for her. She told everyone thank you for the meal and made her way to Inuyasha. Inuyasha opened the door for her and they began the tour. The castle was truly amazing. Though Inuyasha could not show her everything he did show her the main rooms. He showed her where the kitchen was, the music room, the study, guest rooms, her parents room, his parents room, his room, the garden, and the ball room. Everything had its own touch to it.

The music room had a large piano in it with shelves covering the walls. When she walked over she found that all the books had different music you could play. She was amazed at all the different kinds. She learned the location of the guest rooms, her parents, his parents, and his room but did not go in finding it rude. The garden was breath taking. Every flower you could imagine was in the garden. It even had a small pond. Inuyasha explained that there are other gardens surrounding the castle but this one was his favorite. The study had an old look to it. As if they were trying to make it seem as much into the past as they could.

But the ball room was breath taking. It looked so bright and opened. She was so amazed at the beauty it held. She slowly made her way to the middle of the dance floor and closed her eyes getting a feel of the area surrounding her. She then let her body take control. Forgetting Inuyasha was there she began to dance by herself. She began to dance and she felt herself becoming happy. She could hear the music in her head as she kept her eyes closed. Inuyasha stood there watching her. It almost seemed as if she had a partner leading her in the dance, but he kept seeing that it was only her. She looked so beautiful dancing on the dance floor. He slowly made his way to her and began to dance with her. She laughed when she opened her eyes to see Inuyasha with a big smile on his face dancing with her. They kept on dancing enjoying the moment. What they didn't know was that someone in the shadows was watching this scene play out. Once they finished and started laughing Inuyasha brought her to the library. He knew from what she told him on the first day they met that she loved to read. So he saved her favorite for last. She was in awe as she walked in. There were thousands of books. The walls were covered in them and there were shelves everywhere. She was so amazed. She then looked to find some chairs. One was on the bottom floor near the fire place. She looked up to find that she was only looking at the first level. There were at least three of four more floors filled with books. Each floor having its own little place to sit and read.

She turned and smiled at Inuyasha. Before he could say a word she ran over to him giving him a huge hug.

"Thank you Inuyasha! You are truly wonderful," Kagome stated with a smile.

Inuyasha just smiled back taking in the scene before him. He watch her as she ran over to the nearest shelf as she began scanning for a book to read. As he watched her full of energy he knew that she would be a hand full. He smirked at the idea of Sesshomaru having to deal with her. He knew Kagome and himself would get along great. The question was her and Sesshomaru.

He decided to leave her there to look through the books. He told her bye and made his way to his room deciding to relax. Today had been a long day and he was tired. He then realized that Sesshomaru was coming back tomorrow late at night. Well this should be interesting he thought. He knew someone was watching us while we went through the castle and he knew exactly who it was.

* * *

Next Day

The day went day really fast. Kagome had enjoyed the day before; when Inuyasha showed her around. She was so amazed at how big the castle was. But she knew that there was more for her see. Today had been going well. She had all her meals for the day with everyone, and when they were not all together she was with Inuyasha. They either walked around the garden, the armor room, or into his room where he showed her some of the books he was currently reading. He explained to her that he did not read much but when he did the books somehow ended up being books over 400 pages. She laughed at this which only made Inuyasha start laughing with her. Kagome enjoyed her time with Inuyasha. She was not even noticing that Sesshomaru wasn't around. If things could stay like this she would defiantly enjoy life and all it brought her.

"Well Kagome, I am sorry but I have to go to sleep. I have practice in the morning so I need sleep."

"Practice?"

"Yes, I train with the soldiers to keep my skills up. And tomorrow morning they are training. So if I plan on waking up tomorrow I need some sleep. Sorry about this Kagome."

"Oh no, it is fine. I understand. Well, thank you for the wonderful time Inuyasha. Maybe I will get up early to see you train," Kagome stated with a smile as she made her way to the door.

"I would not mind at all."

"Great, well I might see you there. Good night Inuyasha." And with that Kagome walked out the door hearing him telling her good night as well. She took a couple of steps away from the door and sighed. She was nowhere near tired. So what was she going to do?

Kagome began to wander around the castle trying to find something to occupy her time. As she was walking she began to admire all the great art work and antiques. As she walked she came across the library. She decided to walk in and find a book to read. She search for about thirty minutes until she found something that she thought would be a good. She made her way to the chair by the fire place and began to read.

The sun had set already and a maid had come in and set the fire in the fireplace so she could continue reading. Kagome was completely taken in by the story. She had not noticed the maid that had come in to set the fire or the demon who had just entered the room.

As Kagome kept on reading, the demon slowly made his way toward her. A small smile crossed his lips at the sight of the young woman before him not even noticing his presence. He was now behind her when he slowly bent down and blew into her ear. She jumped up about to scream but before she could he quickly grabbed her and covered her mouth. He felt her breathing hard and her whole body was tense. Once he felt her calm down some when he let her go and stepped back. He watched as she slowly turned around and her eyes went into shock. But that was not the only emotion he saw in her eyes. She had a fire in her eyes. He had made her mad this time.

"SESSHOMARU YOU JERK!" she yelled at him. "You scared me so bad!"

"Guess you should pay more attention to your surroundings. Oh, and wench you can stop yelling now. "

Kagome became quiet and glared at the demon before him. "Is it natural for a demon, like yourself, to creep up onto someone when they are reading?"

"Only when I think I will get something out of it."

"And what would that be?"

"Like you do not know."

Kagome blushed at this statement. Now that she was calm and thinking about what just happened this reminded her of when he showed up in her room unknowingly. As she thought about it, she could feel her cheeks grow warmer by the second.

Sesshomaru smiled at this reaction. He knew she would be too easy. He started to turn away when he heard her take a step toward him. He then stopped and turned around.

"You are right about one thing Sesshomaru."

"And what would that be?"

"I need to be aware of all my surroundings. So tomorrow I am getting up early to train with Inuyasha and your men." After Kagome said this she started making her way past him when she then felt a hand grasp her arm and turn her aournd.

"You will do no such thing. That is no place for a pathetic human like you."

"Oh really, well I disagree."

"You will not defy me again wench."

"Oh, but you see that is where you are wrong. You have no power over me what so ever. So as far as I am concerned you can not stop me. I am free to do whatever I please."

Sesshomaru knew she had a point, but hey if she wanted to go get herself killed it was fine by him. The he would not have to marry or mate someone as weak as a human. He then let her go, and gave her a glare as he made his out of the room. He would push the training back a couple of hours so he could get some sleep. He knew his brother would not mind at all. He kept on walking noticing that Kagome was following him. He just ignored her presence. He was tired and did not feel like dealing with her at this moment. He then saw he pasted up her door and heard her go inside. He went down a little farther to find himself at this bedroom door. He entered his room and got ready for bed. He then laid down and waited to see if sleep would consume him.

* * *

Inuyasha was glad to hear that the training had been moved back. He then decided to get more sleep. He knew his brother was going to be in a bad mood. The day went on smoothly until breakfast. Everyone was in the room except for Kagome. So everyone sat there and waited for her.

Kagome was making her way down the hall. She had slept well that night. As she made it to the dining room door she gave a soft knock and walked in. She came in and took her seat. Only to find that now she had to sit in front of the arrogant demon Sesshonaru. She gave a nodded to everyone and a glare to Sesshomaru as the maids came in serving everyone their food. They all ate in silence until Lord Taishou broke it.

"I hope everyone is doing well this morning," he said with a smile. Everyone nodded in response. "Well that's good. Now I had an idea last night and I think it is a good one."

"And what would that be Taishou?" asked Ryuu in a curious voice.

"I think it would be a good idea for Kagome and Sesshomaru to spend the day together," he stated with a bright smile. Kagome nearly choked on the water she had just taken a sip of. Sesshomaru only glared at his father.

"That is a wonderful idea!" exclaimed Ryuu.

"Father?!" Kagome exclaimed.

"Now, now, Kagome you know that you have to marry him. You might as well get to know each other before you have to get married. It would make things less awkward between you two."

"But, I don't…" Kagome was cut off my her mother.

"I do agree with your father and Lord Taishou. Don't you Kimmi?" asked Seika in a curious as well as excited voice.

"Then it is decided. They will have the entire day together to get to know each other," Taishou stated in a proud voice.

To Kagome breakfast ended far too quickly than she would have liked. Now she had to spend the rest of the day with him. This was going to be horrible. She looked up only to find him already making his way out the door. She got up quickly and followed him. Knowing that if she did not she was going to be yelled at by her father. She hung her face down walking behind him. Not only was she going to have to deal with seeing him during the training, but for the entire day. What could happen?


	5. Chapter 3

Hi everyone! Sorry that it has been a while since I have updated. June was a pretty busy month for me. Haha. Well here is the next chapter. I hope you like it. :D Let me know what you think about it at the end. I really like getting reviews from yall. It really encourages me. Well anyway here is this chapter. ^_^

'This is just great. I really did not want to spend the entire day with this…this…,' Kagome thought to herself. 'What did I ever do to deserve this? I would really like to know. I mean just look at him. He is acting as if nothing has even happened. I know he doesn't want to spend the entire day with me either. What should I do? Someone please tell me what I should do.'

As they made their way down the long hallway. Kagome thought all of this. She didn't even notice when Sesshomaru stopped until she ran into his back. She began to fall back when two strong arms caught her and made her steady. She then looked up to find Sesshomaru's golden eyes staring right into her deep blue ones. They stayed like that for a minute and then Sesshomaru released her. She kept starting at him and his face went back to its unemotional state.

"What are you staring at wench?" Sesshomaru stated in an annoyed tone.

"I um…um..."Kagome found herself at a loss of words. She was so captivated by his eyes. To everyone they seemed cold, hard, and emotionless. To her, she could tell that there was more to it than that. There was something that he did not want anything living to see. Something he wanted to protect. What did he want to protect was the question. Maybe he was hurt long ago and he did not want anyone to get close to him, like before. She did not know, but, what she did know was that she was going to find out what it was. She began to open her mouth to speak still finding him staring at her, but, now with a raised brow. She just couldn't find the words and then she thought over his question again. Anger then consumed her. She looked at him and the words just fell out of her mouth. "How dare you call me a wench! I told you before and I'll tell you again! I have a name and you are not to call me wench!"

Sesshomaru stared at the young woman before him as she waited for a reply from him. Instead he only turned around and began walking to his original destination. As he listened he noticed that Kagome was not following him; which was completely fine with him. If it was up to him he would have her already thrown out the palace. To him she was an annoying, stubborn, loud, weak, and pathetic. How could his father even think that she was good for him? He saw the look his father got when she spoke back to him the first night they had dinner together. Never has anyone shown such disrespect to him before.

The only thing he could do is make her crumble before him. No, something even better, for her to crumble before everyone and for her to make a fool of herself. He did not need a mate or a wife. He was perfectly fine on his own. He needed no one. And that he was certain of. Before he knew it he was at the doors of his study. Sesshomaru took a deep breath and walked into his study. He hated that he had to do paper work, but, because he was going to be the next Lord of the West he needed to get use to it. He did not trust anyone else in the palace to it right. So there was no other choice but for him to. He sat down at his desk and began to work. He only had a couple of hours before he had to go train with the soldiers.

Kagome stood there with her mouth hanging open as she watched him just turn around and leaver her standing there. She couldn't believe her eyes. They were told that they had to spend the entire day together and he was just going to leave her there. Fine, she would just have to explain to her father and the Lord of the West that he walked off and she did not know where he was. And if she were going to go look for him she would most certainly get lost. She had no other choice but to return to her room and get ready for the training later today.

As she walked to her room she was still fuming over the fact that Sesshomaru just left her there to find her way around. She knew that even with her good excuse for not being with Sesshomaru at this very minute her father would still be furious with her. Between her thoughts of Sesshomaru and thoughts of her father scolding her, she found herself at her bedroom door. She walked in and went straight to her closet. She then pulled out an outfit that reflects the same kind of uniform a priest would wear. The only difference was the instead of the pants being red they were white and the shirt was red. She took off her kimono and began to dress in the outfit she just pulled out. Once she was done she let her hair loose from the bun and pulled it into a ponytail. She walked over the mirror and took a look at herself. She was pleased with the way she looked. She then began to make her way to Inuyasha's room.

A little while later her and Inuyasha arrived to the area where the soldiers would train. Kagome had explained to Inuyasha that she like to warm up before she began to train. Inuyasha was confused at first and he told her that they warm up before they begin to train. Kagome then told him that they do not warm up in the same was she does. So he ended up giving in and here they are.

"So Kagome what is this warm up that you need to do?" Inuyasha asked with a curious voice.

"Oh, you will see Inuyasha." Kagome replied with a smile. She then looked around. She notice that it was a huge field and that not far from where they had entered to get to the field was a very large circle made of stones. She looked at Inuyasha with a confused look on her face. "Inuyasha what is the large circle for?" Kagome asked him as she made her way towards it.

"Oh, after training sometimes the soldiers like to have a match so that is where they fight."

"Oh, I see. That would explain why it is so large. What else is it used for?"

"Well besides that nothing really."

"Oh, well may I warm up on it?"

"I don't see why not." Inuyasha said as he shrugged his shoulders. He then made his way to a bench where he could sit and watch Kagome.

Kagome made her way to the very center of the circle. She then took a deep breath and relaxed her whole body. She then moved to a martial art stance. She then closed her eyes as she aloud her body to go through the motions it knew so well. She felt herself slowly, gracefully, and firmly move from one stance to the next. Each one becoming more complicated than the last.

As Inuyasha was amazed as he watched her. To him it was unbelievable what she was doing. He watched as each move became more complicated than the last. He saw her put flips, turns, high kicks, and other martial art moves into the moves. After watching her for a while he started to be able to predict what her next move was. Sure she was good at it but if her moves were predictable then she would be someone that could easily be defeated. But he had to admit that she has talent. He watched her for an hour before the soldiers started showing up. Once the first soldier came into the area Kagome had finished and was sitting with Inuyasha talking. As each soldier came in into the training area, they all took a look at Kagome. Until one finally spoke up.

"What is a weak human doing here?" one of the soldiers stated with a cold tone.

Kagome slightly glanced up at the soldier to find that he was staring at her head on. She just turned her vision back to Inuyasha deciding to ignore the outburst that had just happened. She began her conversation again only to find it interrupted…

"It should just leave, there is no reason for it to be here. Besides I don't think Lord Sesshomaru would like a human here. He hates all humans," the soldier stated.

Kagome took another glance at him to find that he was still staring at her. She then looked at Inuyasha seeing him getting irritated. She had notice that he was getting irritated with the earlier remarks but she could tell he was about to lose his temper with this soldier. She looked at Inuyasha and smiled. She knew he was doing this just to get on her nerves and it was working. But, she would not let him know that. Inuyasha gave her a confused looked after she smiled at him. She then continued the conversation as if nothing had occurred.

The soldier was becoming annoyed. He did not want some human here during their training. He also hated humans. He could not stand the very site of them and after hearing that a majority of the other soldiers making remarks on her figure. He had just about had it. He looked at her and noticed that he was bothering her with his remarks but he couldn't understand why she was not acting on her feelings. He could smell them. And when she smiled to the half-breed he lost it. Before he knew it he was walking towards the human girl. He stopped when he was right in front of her.

"Did you not hear me human? We do not want you here," he stated in a cold tone. But it was nowhere close to as cold as Sesshomaru's.

Kagome turned and faced him and replied in a calm voice, "Oh, yes I did hear you. But as far as I can tell you are the only one that has a problem with my being here," she smiled at him after she finished talking.

He began to shake with anger. Not only was she admitting that she had heard him and was ignoring him. But she was also insulting him.

"Believe me, I am not the only one that does not want you here. I am just the only one that will just speak up. So leave now."

"No, I will not leave," Kagome stated firmly.

"Leave or I will show you the way back inside."

"You have no power over me. I will only leave when I want to."

He laughed at this with a tone that made Kagome's skin crawl. He only laughed for a minute before his eyes turned as cold as death as he looked at her. His lips made an evil smirk as he bent downward some so his face was in hers.

"And why exactly are you here?"

"To train."

"HA, train? What can a weak human like yourself do? Not only are you human but you are a woman. Your are good for nothing but pleasure, child care taking, and housekeeping. You are not even worth that at times"

"I think the only weak one here right now is you," Kagome stated with an evil smirk.

Suddenly Kagome felt a clawed hand around her throat as she was slammed into the nearest outside palace wall. Her back arched from the sudden quick pain that went through her body. She looked down to find his eyes turning red. She had paid no attention to what color they were before but now there was no way she could miss it.

She then found herself not being able to breath. Her sight began to go black. She saw Inuyasha ordering someone as he ran towards her. Before she knew it all she saw was darkness but as quickly as it came, it left. She heard a snarl and a growl, followed by a scream of pain. She felt strong arms surround her. One hand on her waist and the other hand laying on her head in a protective position. She leaned against the strong chest that was close to her as her hands grabbed the rescuer's clothes near his shoulder as her vision came back along with her breathing. She had been gasping for air as the rescuer held onto her protectively.

Her vision restored in moments. She turned her head to find her rescuer no other than Lord Sesshomaru himself. She saw a quick glimpse of concern but it disappeared so quickly she doubted that she had even saw it. She felt her cheeks turn a bright red and felt herself being released. She then found Inuyasha standing right behind her to steady her in case she still needed time to focus. She watched as Sesshomaru walked over to the soldier that had hurt her. He was on the ground bleeding from his wrist all the way to his elbow.

"How dare you harm the Lady of the Eastern Land!" Sesshomaru exclaimed with no emotion on his face.

"She…she is…" the soldier stumbling with his words.

"Yes, you fool. Give me one good reason why I should not kill you as the law states."

"Because I do not want you too," Kagome claimed out loud.

Sesshomaru turned towards her and raised his brow. "Is this not the demon you just tried to end your life Lady Kagome?"

"It is, but I believe that we all deserve a second chance and I'm sure he learned something from this."

"No my Lord! Please kill me now! I could not live knowing that I am only alive cause a mere human saved it. Do as the law commands my Lord."

"How about this, I will have a match with you. If you win you may die. If I win your life is spared just as I requested," Kagome said with a calm voice.

"Kagome this is the demon who just tried to kill you! You almost died and you want to have a match with him? Are you crazy?" Inuyasha yelled furiously.

Kagome merely smiled and replied, "What does he have to lose? If my life just then was that easy to take then he should have no problem with it. Besides the most he could get out of it is pleasure. I mean that is what my kind is for, sometimes," Kagome gave Sesshomaru an evil smirk and turned it to the demon on the ground.

"I agree to the terms. But, it will take place after training," Sesshomaru said and took his position at the front waiting for his soldiers to get in there places.

The training went rather quickly for Kagome. She stayed with Inuyasha the entire time. The soldiers ended up really liking Kagome and they were surprised on how easily she kept up with everyone and everything they did. When it came to sword fighting they were amazed at how she could handle a sword almost twice her size. Inuyasha was amazed that she was able to knock him on off his feet. He never expected Kagome to be this good. They did many more practices and everyone was getting along. Except for the young soldier that had insulted and almost killed Kagome. She found out that his name was Shin. Throughout the training she ignored him. But she could tell that he was watching her very closely. During the training everyone came to the same conclusion as Inuyasha. Kagome was very good but some of her moves were very predictable. They all felt that Kagome would lose this match at the end of training and they would then lose a great soldier. Even though he can be rude, violent, and egocentric; he was still a great soldier.

The training finally ended and it was time for the match between Kagome and Shin. Nobody knew who to cheer for. A great deal of the soldiers had come to like Kagome. Others had taken a great liking to Kagome. Everyone gathered around the circle area with Kagome and Shin in the middle. They were standing no more than a few feet apart. Kagome then let her hair loose from its ponytail. She then pulled her hair up to a bun, only allowing a few of her front bangs loose to frame her face. She then looked at her opponent getting a look at him. He was very tall but not as tall as Sesshomaru. He had deep red eyes, they almost look black. His hair was long and black with a red tinge to it. His face a firm and strong; you could tell that the emotion she was seeing plastered across his face was his true emotion. You tell because his entire body language screamed 'I will not lose', 'I will not be made a fool of', and 'I will protect my honor'. His skin was tanned very nicely telling her that he spent many hours outdoors. His tan skin complimented his dark hair and eyes and as expecting of a demon he was well built. But it was still no comparison to Sesshomaru.

'Wait since when have I started comparing men to Sesshomaru?' Kagome thought to herself in a panic. 'Why would it matter if they do or do not compare to Sesshomaru? I don't even like the guy. He is too full of himself. So why am I doing this?' Kagome would have continued her train of thought if it had not been for Inuyasha interrupting her.

"So who is going to be the judge?" Inuyasha asked out loud. "It can't be me, cause I am friends with Kagome."

"How about Lord Sesshomaru?" Kagome suggested out loud. "He does not like me and since he is the one that suggested that Shin would have to die, that tells us that he does not care of the outcome of this fight."

Everyone agreed to this reasoning and all looked towards their leader and ruler. They waited patiently for an answer. They watched as Sesshomaru's golden eyes made contact with Kagome's deep blue ones. It was as if they were having a conversation without using words or movements. They finally saw Kagome close her eyes and look back at her opponent. But not before they caught a pleasant sent coming from Kagome and then they saw a light blush cross across her cheeks. Sesshomaru then nodded his head in an agreement with the suggestion.

A young soldier then came in between Kagome and Shin and started to explain the rules of the match.

"Ok, this is how it is going to work you two. You may use anything you want to defeat your opponent. But killing your opponent is not allowed. The idea of the match is get your opponent to on their back and you have to keep them there for ten seconds. Other than what I just said everything else is allowed."

Kagome thought that the rules were pretty simple. When she heard that all she had to do was get him on his back and hold him there a smile crossed her lips. This would be easy. She knew they changed the rules some because she was the Lord of the Eastern Lands daughter but after today's match she knew that would change.

Kagome smiled at her opponent before she asked, "Ready?"

He gave her a wicked smile in return and got into a battle stance.

Kagome then got into a battle stance ready for anything.

The young soldier that explained the rules then ran out of the way and nodded towards Sesshomaru. Sesshomaru nodded back and then shouted out, "Begin!"

Kagome stayed in the same spot, she was waiting for Shin to make the first move. After a while she noticed that he got bored waiting for her to start so he started just as she had planned. He turned into a blur as he used his demon speed to surprise her. But to her she could see everything he was doing. He ended up behind her reaching his arm out to grab her by the throat to bring her backward so that her back would be on the ground. Before he could react there was a hand on his wrist. He looked at her to find Kagome smirking at him over her shoulder. His eyes widened. How could she have seen him? She then flipped him over her shoulder so he was on his back. He quickly got up then jumped backward. Kagome watched him sail through the air from his jump. She gave him a wicked smirk and began walking towards the direction he jumped. When he landed back on the ground he started running towards her using more speed than he had the last time. He ran in all directions planning on confusing her. He watched her as she stopped walking and just stood there. A smile appeared on his lips as he ended up in front of her. He looked at her and smirked. But as quickly as he blinked she disappeared from his sight. He heard a gasp go through everyone that was watching. He turned around in all directions frantically looking for her. Not being able to find her he stood still in a battle stance. As quickly as she appeared she was again before him with her foot making contact with his chest. He then saw her make a graceful turn when she then kicked him in the face. He landed on the ground to find her straddling him to keep him down and one of her hands grabbed both of his wrists and pinned them above his head. Using her other hand she took out a small dagger and placed it to his throat. It was over and they both knew it. It was the beginning of the fight and it was already over. Neither of them had broken a sweat.

"One," shouted one of the soldiers next to Sesshomaru.

"Two."

" Three."

" Four."

"Five."

"Six."

"Seven."

"Eight."

"Nine."

"TEN!"

"Done! The fight is now over. Winner is…" the soldier stated waiting for Sesshomaru to announce the name.

As calm as ever Sesshomaru closed his eyes and finished the sentence, "Lady Kagome."

Everyone's mouth was hanging open as the saw what position Kagome was in and not only that but the fact that she had beaten Shin. They all just stared watching her. Neither her or Shin had made a move. The only move they saw was when Kagome smirked after hearing her name.

Sesshomaru stood there watching the fight. He was impressed with Kagome. He was surprised at her speed and confidence the whole time. She has been well trained. He knew that her father was not over exaggerating when he said Kagome enjoyed fighting. But he was furious in the position she was in. She had not right not be straddling his waist the way she was. The fight was over so was she not getting off of him?

'Why am I thinking this?' Sesshomaru questioned himself. 'I do not care what she does with whom. It is her decision.' He continued to look at the scene before him. He anger continued to grow even after he watched her get off of his soldier.

Everyone then surrounded the two. Everyone was yelling questions at Kagome and she just turned around and smiled to them all. They all watched as she turned to Shin. A huge bright smile appeared on her face. She looked into his dark eyes and said, "I win. Now you have a meaning to life. And that meaning is to defeat me. So I hope you train hard. Cause the next time I will not go so easy on you," Kagome ended with the smile that never left her face. She then began to search the crowd for a particular demon she wanted to see. But she could not find him. She made her way through the crowd telling everyone to ask Shin their questions. Once she was out the crowd she realized that he was nowhere in sight. She then turned to find Inuyasha's chest right in her face. She looked up and gave him a warm smile, to assure him that she was ok. He still looked down on her with a worried look. He took a step back to give her space. He took a deep breath and looked into her deep blue eyes.

"He always goes to his study after training," Inuyasha stated calmly. "Go through the doors where we came out of and walk like you are going to your room. Pass up your room and keep walking until you come to a hallway intersection. Take a left and go to the end of the hall. His study is the last door on the right." Before he knew it Kagome was running to the door they came from. He knew that they both were saying that they did not like each other. But he had a feeling that they really did like each other. They had both shown that to him today. Sesshomaru protecting her and her just now looking for him. They can use whatever excuse they can think of but he knew that some sort of feeling were growing between them. And he was ok with that. He loved Kagome like a sister. He had not known her long but he already found himself considering her as a sister.

Kagome ran through the hallways following Inuyasha's directions carefully. When she finally reached the door she was out of breath. She raised her hand to knock and suddenly became nervous. He had just left her out there. Why did she find herself wanting to see him? She weakly let her arm fall back to her side. She began to turn around when she heard a voice come from the inside of the room.

"Come in Kagome," Sesshomaru said through the door. He was fully aware of her presence at his door. He was still amazed that a human could have so many emotions at once. At first she was excited and happy. The next she was nervous and confused. Then she was sad and gave off the aura of being defeated. He saw the door slowly open and a head peek in from the side of the door. He watched as she came in the room and as slowly as she opened the door; entered and she closed it.

"Is there something you need Kagome?" Sesshomaru asked with the least bit of interest in his voice. Though he was completely curious as to why she was visiting him.

"Did you forget that we have to spend the entire day together?" Kagome stated quietly.

"Ah, yes. Well I do not think you will want to see me do paper work so you can leave and do as you please."

"That's…ok…I would like…to see what you do…" Kagome said hesitantly. She could not figure out why she was acting like this but she could not seem to stop herself.

"If that is what you want."

Kagome then took a seat in one of chairs in the study. She sat there and watched Sesshomaru as he read papers from the different lands and other papers from his own. After a few hours of silence, Kagome decided to look around the study. She saw that everything in the room to a glance looked boring. But after studying the room you found it to be very cultural. She saw a picture of his father and what seems to be his real mother on a wall in between two bookshelves. She found that the wooden floor was a deep brown that compliminted the mist colored walls. Mist colored curtains were pulled back from the windows to allow in sunlight. In between the two large windows was a painting of his father, the yokia lady from the picture before and himself. In every wall space there was something to occupy it. Whether it was an ancient sword, old piece of writing, or the family seal; there was something that took up wall space. After looking around the room and browsing the bookshelf that covered one whole wall of the study; she began to watch Sesshomaru more closely. She started to learn little differences that his face made when different emotions came up. The one she saw now for a while was aggravation. She noticed that he had been reading the same documents over and over again. Only to find his mood worsening.

"Seshomaru is there something wrong?" she asked just above a whispered. To her it appeared he did not hear her so she slowly made her way towards him. She placed her small hand on his shoulder. This brought his attention to her. He looked at her with confusion.

"Is there something wrong Sesshomaru?"

"Oh, no. It is nothing," Sesshomaru stated.

"Do not lie to me. I can tell something is wrong."

"And what makes you say that?" Sesshomaru asked getting a little mad because she called him a liar.

"I have been sitting in this room for a while now Sesshomaru. You may think that you can hide your emotions from everyone but I can see straight through you."

Sesshomaru was shocked by her response. How could she see through him so easily?

"I do not know why I am acting this way. I should still be mad at you for everything you did to me. But for some reason I am finding myself letting it go. I guess it is because you saved me…" Kagome replied in a soft innocent voice.

"Hn," was all Sesshomaru said.

"May I?" Kagome asked as she reached for the documents he was reading over and over again.

He nodded his head telling her that he gave her permission to look at the documents. She quickly scanned them. It was news about the Southern forces. It gave in detail on what sort of damage the Southern Lord had done and predictions on his next move. The other papers were requests for certain villages and so on. Some of the villages were asking permission to enter the Western territory to escape the Southern Lords army. The problem was that these people were from the south. There was no way for them to tell if they were really trying to escape their Lord or if they were going to be spies. Kagome then gave a sigh.

"I see your problem. Maybe you could allow them to come close to the border that separates the territories?"

"That will not work cause then they can sneak in anyway and cause whatever trouble they desire."

"I hate to leave them out there but there is no way for us to be able to tell if they are with us or not. Maybe we should talk to our fathers about this. I'm not saying you can't come up with a solution. But a sometimes it is good to have ideas and suggestions."

"I will make it known to my father," Sesshomaru said as he rose from his seat and put all the papers back to their proper places and locked away. He then offered his arm to Kagome.

At first Kagome was shocked but she took his arm as they made their way down the hall. She found herself in a garden she had not seen. They walked around the garden nervous on what to do. Now and again she would stop to smell the flowers. Sesshomaru did not say much. But Kagome found that to be normal with him. She was just happy that he was acting nice instead of an Ice Lord.

"So why were you in the Library that late the day I came back to the palace?" Sesshomaru asked to make some sort of conversation. The silence was nice but he knew that his father would ask what they talked about and so on.

"Oh, well you see…I have always loved to read," Kagome answered surprised."After my father found me and took me in he would read me stories every night. I guess you could say it was a way that I was able to connect with my father. Even when he was busy he would make sure he came by my room to read to me. Even if it was just a couple of pages. And now that I am older I can't seem to stop reading. Books are like my escape from the real word and a comfort to me. I just enjoy reading. When Inuyasha showed me the library I was amazed at how many books yall had. And before I knew it I was searching through the shelves for a book to read. And that night I got really into the story and lost track of time," Kagome ended with a bright smile.

"What do you mean by 'after your father found you'?" Sesshomaru asked in a curious tone.

Kagome suddenly became nervous. She thought that they had told Sesshomaru about her story but I guess they did not. She stopped walking and she turned to face him with a serious look on her face.

"If you do not mind Sesshomaru I would not like to share that at this moment. Maybe some other time?"

"That will be fine," Sesshomaru answered noticing that she had tensed when he had asked her that.

They spent rest of the time they had together before it was almost dinner time. They both had skipped lunch because of the match Kagome and Shin had. Sesshomaru walked her back to her room so she could freshen up before she had to meet everyone is the dining room. She told him thank you and walked into her room. Sesshomaru then left for his own room to do the same thing.

Once Kagome was in her room she closed the door and leaned on it. She took a deep breath and let everything that had just happened register.

'Why did my attitude towards him change all of a sudden?' Kagome asked herself. 'Shouldn't I still be trying to get back at him? Maybe my attitude did change because he saved me… I would have thought that it was Inuyasha. I never would have guessed Sesshomaru. Maybe I judged him too quickly. Oh well, guess I will see what happens.'

As Sesshomaru made his way to his room he started to think about what just happened. He had noticed that Kagome's attitude towards him had changed. But he could not understand why. Sure she did say that her attitude changed because he saved her. But that was something he had to do. She was after all the daughter of the Eastern Lord. That was the only reason he saved her, right? By this time he had finally reached his room. As he opened the door and walked in only one thought crossed his mind, 'Dinner was going to be interesting'.

So what do you think? I would really like to know. And don't worry, I still have plans for these two. Sorry, but I have to keep the story interesting. Well leave me a comment and I just might update faster. I will be updating faster than this previous time. Or at least I will try to. July is a busy month for me. Well let me know what you think. :D Until the next update. ^_^ Bye!


	6. Chapter 4

Hello everyone! Surprise! I know I havn't posted a new chapter in a good while, but school has been crazy. I know that is not a really good reason. So yall can throw stuff at me or whatever. I know I deserve it. I hope you like the new chapter. Sorry that it is not much. I promise to get the next chapter up as soon as I can. Reviews do help. Just saying. That is...well you will find out at the end. For now enjoy the chapter and tell me what you think :D Thanks so much!

3 msec

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It was not long before everyone was seated and eating at the dinner table. Servants were running in and out of the room. And that seemed to be the only noise besides the noises from the dishes. No one would say a word. Kagome sat there quietly trying to figure out why everyone was so quiet, but nothing came to mind. Inuyasha was even quiet.

Kagome decided to take the time to look at everyone seated at the table. Her father looked as he normally did, and the same goes for everyone else. Lady had a calm look on her face and was quietly eating. Lord Inu seemed to have a look of concentration on his face as he ate. But this was not unusual. Being a Lord meant that you had many responsibilities to care out. So this took a great deal of work. The only time a Lord could get a moment of rest was when he retired for the day. Kagome learned this from watching her father. As Kagome glanced at her mother she knew something was wrong. Her mother face looked worn and full of concern. When her mother caught her glancing at her she put down her silverware and turned to look straight at Kagome. Kagome suddenly found herself holding her breath.

"Kagome dear, we need to talk," her mother said with a tone that only a mother could have. "We all heard about what happened today."

"Oh, mother please it was noth-"

"Yes, it was," her mother voice rose slightly. "You deliberately put yourself in danger today. What have I told you about picking your battles wisely? You are a princess not a warrior."

"Mother I am sorry, but I must disagree. Women need to learn how to defend themselves or else men will always be in control."

"And that is the way it is suppose to be. The men are in authority. Men are suppose to be above us women."

"No mother. I believe that women have a voice and that voice should be heard. Men are not always going to be around to protect us. We need to learn to defend ourselves. Yes men have a final say, but I believe that we have a right to say what we believe. Women's opinions are no less than a mans."

"This may be true Kagome, but I still do not like the idea of you putting yourself in danger. You are my only daughter. I do not know what I would do if something happened to you."

"Mother, with all respect, this is no different from training with Fathers men."

"Yes, there is a difference. I know your Fathers men. I do not know the men here."

"With all respect, My Lady, I would have intervened before anything could have gotten out of hand," interrupted Inuyasha politely.

"Yes Lady Saika, I believe my sons would have reacted if they saw she was in danger. And you do not have to worry. These are Sesshomaru's men. I know that these men would not hurt your daughter. And neither of my sons would allow that."

"I understand that Lord Inu, but wasn't one of these men that supposedly put my daughter in danger."

The whole room went silent. Kagome remained quiet. But she was far from quiet in her head. Without being able to control herself Kagome stood up from the table.

"Kagome dear, what is wrong?"

"This mother," Kagome stated with a cold tone. "It is almost as like you do not understand."

"What do I not understand?"

"I need to earn respect from these men."

"They should already respect you my dear."

"But I-"

"Be quiet Kagome," interrupted Sesshomaru with a cold voice that sent shivers down her spine.

"But Sesshomaru I-"

"I said be silent. You are my future wife. You will learn to obey me. Lady Saika I believe that what Kagome is trying to say is that she wants them to respect her for whom she is not what she is."

"I see. And how do you know my daughter so well, after a short period of time?" Saika asked with a hard tone.

"I don't, but I understood that when she asked me for my permission to fight the man. And I saw her determination while we worked."

"I see. Well I will retire for tonight."

"Mother I-"

"Please Kagome I understand. I'm sorry I over reacted. You are right I should be use to you doing this. And I should allow you to do things your way."

"Darling we both love you very much," stated Ryuu with caring eyes.

"And why were you so quiet throughout this whole discussion darling?" Saika said with a dare in her eyes.

"Well my dear let's just say I know when to speak and when not too. Plus I understood Kagome's motives from the beginning. Not to mention I knew this was something you and her had to work out."

"Well then I will give you something you and I will have to work out tonight," Saika said with mystery in her eyes that he understood perfectly and it led a grin on his face.

"Oh I can't wait. Well excuse me everyone I suddenly feel very tired." Everyone smiled at this statement only to find themselves agreeing with him, but only on the tiredness part.

Everyone began leaving the room one by one. Within a few moments only Kagome and Sesshomaru were left in the room alone.

Sesshomaru stood up from his chair only to glance at Kagome and began to make his way towards the door to leave.

"Well I hope you are not expecting a thank you from me," Kagome stated in a annoyed tone. "Cause you are not going to get one."

"I wasn't expecting one," Sesshomaru stated as he stopped in front of the door.

"Good. And for your information, I did not need your help."

"Oh, really? I highly doubt that."

"Oh do you? Well I can perfectly take care of my own battles. Thank you."

"Why are you having such a hard time to admit that you needed help?" Sesshomaru stated with a questioning glance.

Kagome held her breath for a minute. She did not expect him to actually argue with her. But she did kind of need it and she was mad at him...or at least that's what she told herself.

"I don't have a problem with it. I just did not need your help. So I have no reason to admit that I needed help because I didn't need it or want it. Besides have you ever admitted that you need someone's help?"

"This Sesshomaru needs no one."

"Right, I'm sure about that," Kagome said while sending a glare.

"Are you mocking me wench?" Sesshomaru said with venom in hos voice.

Kagome walked straight up to him and got in his face with a glare that look as if it could kill thousands of men. "How dare you call me that! I thought I made it perfectly clear that you were to stop calling me that!" Kagome said with her voice rising.

"Oh really and what are you going to do about it?" Sesshomaru said with a daring face.

Kagome suddenly realizing how close she was to him took a step back only to find him taking a step towards her. Kagome soon ran out of room and bumped into the table. She became trapped between a piece of furniture and eyes that look like they were about to kill someone. And that someone was her. She held her breath trying to think of a way out or something to say, but nothing came to her.

Kagome found herself blurting out the first thing that came to her. "And how dare you command me like you did earlier! And let's just get something clear here, even when I become your wife that does not mean I have to obey to every little command that you give me. No I will be in charge of myself," Kagome gasp at what she just said. She basically told Sesshomaru that he had no control or power over her. While yes that was true at the moment she knew that to a demon that was a great insult because the wife has always submitted to the husband. She saw death in his eyes. Yet, when she looked at his thin, firm, and smooth lips; she saw a grin forming on his face. She looked back up at him with questioning eyes. Only to have what she saw before glaring right back down at her.

"So I have no power over you. Is that what you believe?"

"Yes," Kagome said firmly.

"Well then let's test to see if that is true."

Before she could react, Sesshomaru's lips were crashed down onto hers. His large hands held her head to keep her there. Kagome wanted to resist. But she found herself slowly falling into the kiss. Before she knew it she was kissing him back.

Sesshomaru realized this and asked for an entrance into her mouth. Kagome accepted quicker than he thought she would. He tilted her head to get better access to her. He felt her arms wrap around his neck to get closer to him. He allowed his hands to fall from their place and picked her up to place her on the table. They kept on kissing forgetting everything around them until Sesshomaru realized why was going on. He was liking it and she was responding. This he did not find himself agreeing to. He made himself pull away from her and looked at her. Her cheeks were slightly red. And her lips were swollen from him kissing her. He found himself liking this image. She finally opened her eyes and looked at him. All he could see was confusion and hurt swirling around in her eyes. Without a word Sesshomaru turned a d left her sitting on the table. The only thing he knew was that he had to leave before something else like that happened again.

Kagome sat there and watched him leave. She became confused and wanted to question him. But she couldn't find the strength to move. She sat there until the door closed. She got off the table and fell the floor on her knees trying to figure out what just happened and why... What neither of them noticed was that someone had just seen the whole scene and was now walking away with a huge smile on their face.

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Well I hope you enjoyed the story. Now I have good news and bad news. The good news is that I WILL be writing another chapter and getting it up as soon as possible. The bad news is that another story I am working on called "One Snowy Afternoon" as been just sitting there. I for one HATE it when an author starts a story and then just leaves it there unfinished. So I will also be working on that story. I have still be recieving feedback from that story and it is about time for another chapter to that story. This means that this stories new chapter might take a while to come up. I'm sorry about that. Reviews will help me and if you can any question or suggestions I will email/respond back. Thank you, everyone who has been reading and checking on this story. Bye for now :)


	7. Chapter 5

It had been ten days since Kagome has seen Sesshomaru. As each day went by she counted with relief and with dread. There were times when she would almost run into Sesshomaru and she would dread that she didn't have the courage to face him. And then there were times when she would find herself almost directly in his path and when she would look back she would find only an empty space.  
Kagome just could not figure out her feelings at the moment. She could not even understand him. The first time was a joke, but this past time meant something. The question was what?

Kagome began to realize just how none active her days were when she was not with Sesshomaru. She began looking for things to keep herself occupied. She would do things around the palace, help the servants with work, even though they would refuse, and she would sneak into Sesshomaru's study to get the books about his family so she could learn all she could. She had no doubt in her mind that he was noticing this of course.

Kagome sat in a comfy chair in front of a warm and relaxing fireplace. She had just finished reading another book about the ancestors of the Tashio family. They were rich with history. Many of the questions she had about history they filled in. The Tashio ancestors were very detailed and blunt. As far as she could tell they had never once made themselves look like the hero when it was their fault. They were honest. She was now reading a romance book she found in the library. She found this place to be her closest thing to home she could get.

Kagome was almost done with the book when she felt a pair of eyes watching her from behind. She became tense. Her mind went on its own accord. Trying to figure what or who exactly was at the door. She had been having this feeling that someone had been following her and watching her ever since she got to the palace. When she had mentioned it to Inuyasha he just laughed it off saying that there was no way something or someone could be stalking her. Not only would his father and her father notice it, but so would him and Sesshomaru. With that in consideration she came to the conclusion that her mind was making it all up.

There was no question in her mind now though. Something was following her and now it was standing only a few feet behind her. Kagome kept her position, but froze. What was she going to do? Was there anything she could do? She then took a deep breath and relaxed. In one swift moment she was out of the chair and behind a bookshelf quicker than blink of an eye. She noticed that her stalk suddenly became nervous and was currently looking for her. She smiled at this. Apparently this person was not well trained.

One more time Kagome gathered herself and moved behind the person. She noticed at once that the person was extremely small. She placed her hand on the stalkers mouth and brought her forward to the fire to see who it was. Once her eyes adjusted to the quick change in light, Kagome found herself at a loss of words. Here in her arms was a small child. She had black hair that touched her shoulders and soft brown eyes that had tears threatening to pour out. The child was pale but not just from fear. She was dressed in a Tashio family night gown, but Kagome could tell she was not blood related member to the family.

Kagome put her finger over her lips and ushered her to be quiet.

"I'm going to remove my hand from your mouth, ok?" Kagome said with a smile. "I don't want you to scream, ok?"

The little girl nodded. Kagome notice that the girl's body began to relax as she told her this. Kagome slowly remove her hand and once her hand was fully away from the girl Kagome gave a sigh of relief. She then smiled at the girl only to have a shy look in return. Kagome then ushered the girl to have a seat in the chair next to the one was recently sitting in. The small girl gracefully moved and seated herself in the chair waiting for Kagome to do the same. Once seated, Kagome decided to introduce herself.

"Hi, I am Kagome, but I'm sure you already knew this. Am I right?" she questioned.

Kagome got a slight nodded from the girl sitting across from her.

"I see. So are you the one that has been following me?" she questioned.

Once again Kagome only got a slight nod in return. She began to wonder if the girl was able to speak.

"What is your name?"

"Rin's name is Rin," she replied in a small voice.

"Well Rin it is very nice to meet you," Kagome replied with a bright smile. "Tell me Rin where are your parents?"

"Rin does not know." When Rin said this her head went down and her voice became just above a whisper.

"I see. Who are your parents Rin? They must be worried about you," Kagome stated with concern.

"Rin does not know where her parents are because she does not have any. Rin is adopted."

"I see. So is it the Tashio family that as adopted you?"

"No Rin is adopted just by her father."

"Who is your father Rin? Does he know you have been wondering the palace all by yourself and following me no doubt?"

"Oh please do not tell Rin's father about me following you!" she exclaimed.

"And why not?"

"Rin was not suppose to bother you, but Rin couldn't help herself. Rin just had to see what type of person you were."

"Why is that?"

"Because you would be living with Rin from what Rin heard the servants say," Rin replied with a slight giggle.

"Oh is that so. Tell me Rin, how would I be living with you if you are not adopted by the Tashio family?"

"Because was not adopted by the Tashio family, but by a member."

"Rin please tell me. Who is your father?"

"Lord Sesshomaru of course," she replied with the brightest smile Kagome had ever seen. Kagome mouth just hung slightly open due to the shock of information she had just received. Sesahomaru had adopted a daughter and not just any daughter but a HUMAN daughter. Why? Why would he do this if he finds humans weak and waste of space? What did she mean to him? What-

"Lady Kagome are you alright?" Rin asked with a voice full of concern and innocents.

Kagome quickly closed her mouth. "Yes Rin I am fine. I was just not aware that Lord Sessshomaru had a daughter as cute as you."

"Oh Rin understands. But you aren't going tell father about this. Are you?"

"Why no. Of course not Rin, but at the same time I do not think it is safe for you to wondering the palace all by yourself. I can't believe your father would allow this," Kagome said with some anger in her voice.

"Well actually Rin has someone that is supposed to be watching Rin. But they are just SO BORING. They never want to do what Rin wants. Only what they think will make Rin's father happy."

"I see. Well how about this, even though I do not agree with you running away from your keeper. If and when you do, how about you find me? This way, someone is still watching you and your father won't get so mad. Cause I am sure that he is worried about you when you disappear suddenly."

"Oh, Rin's father does not know that Rin disappears," she stated proudly.

"Oh, is that so? I find it hard to believe that anything can get past your father."

"Rin will accept Lady Kagome's offer."

Rin avoiding the statement did not go by unnoticed by Kagome, but for now she decided to let it go.

It has now been a couple of days since Kagome and Rin made that agreement. And everyday Kagome would find Rin by her side. She didn't mind though. She enjoyed having Rin with her. She found her to be a very curious and joyful girl. They enjoyed each other's company. Kagome was now wondering when Sesshomaru would decide to confront her about having Rin by her. There was no doubt in her mind that Rin was informing him of the wonderful days she had, as Rin put it. The question was how much longer will Sesshomaru would tolerate it. Even if he told her she could no longer be by Rin she wouldn't care. She was growing attached to the little girl and at times found it hard to be separated from her.

"Kagome! Will you read this to me please?" Rin begged as she ran to Kagome with a book in hand.

Kagome let out a short joyful laugh. "Sure Rin. What book is it?"

"It's called The Steps of Winter."

"Oh, I think I have read that one before," Kagome stated with a smile.

"Rin thinks that Kagome has read every book written," she said with a bright smile.

"Not every book," Kagome couldn't help but laugh at some of Rin's comments.

Kagome had Rin sit in her lap and she began to read to her. After a while Kagome noticed that Rin had fallen asleep. She looked out the window only to find the sky had grown dark and a fire had been lit at some point. She knew she should bring Rin to bed, but she just didn't want to take the chance of waking her up. Kagome began to relax and fall asleep as well.

"So this is where she has been," stated a cold voice with a hint of concern.

Kagome immediately became awake and look towards the door. And there he stood with concern written all over his face. Once their eyes met all emotion left his face, but that didn't erase what Kagome saw. He walked over and stood in front of the chair. Before Kagome could react Sesshoamru picked Rin up and cradled her in his arms. Kagome sat their trying to keep that picture there as long as she could. She thought it was the sweetest thing she had ever seen. And it brought her back in time. Back when she was small, like Rin, and her father would read her to sleep. He then would carry her to her room and she loved the feeling of waking up in the morning knowing that he truly carried. Sesshomaru caught her staring at them and gave her a questioning glance. Kagome only returned it with a blush.

Sesshomaru started walking away and Kagome just sat there. They hadn't said a word to each other in who knows how long. All she knew was that it had been a couple of weeks. She had to say something. She couldn't keep it like this any-

"Kagome we need to talk," he said with a monotone voice.

She stood up from her chair and turned to look at him. Her eyes clash with golden eyes. He was standing at the door.

"Why?"

"Please just meet with me in the courters."

"Am I to understand that the Great Lord Sesshomaru just said please?"

"Kagome," he said with a threatening tone.

She looked at his eyes and saw that they were somewhat pink. He closed his eyes as if they were in pain and the color disappeared.

"Ok," she replied and he was gone.


	8. Chapter 6

Kagome suddenly was becoming nervous as she slowly made her way to his courters. She knew she was setting herself up for something to happen, but she needed to talk to him. And she couldn't just ignore the way he asked her to come. Not to mention when she questioned him the harshness of his voice when he said her name, and the slight color change in his eyes was not encouraging. She did not know what made his eyes change color, but it worried her. She never saw that happen to either of her parents, but that could mean she just missed it or they hid it from her very well. She had recalled hearing about it though. She heard rumors that demons eyes color changed when they transform into their true appearance and that when that eye color started to show in their second form it was caused by a great amount of emotion. She had heard that rage, lust, and other feelings related to these can cause the change, but this was the first time her witnessing something like this. The question was which emotion brought this out of Sesshomaru?

She was almost to his courters. She could see the door and her feet all of sudden felt like they weighed a hundred pounds. They hadn't talked in weeks and now he wanted to talk. She had no idea what to say. She did not know if she should even be doing this, but even if she tried to turn and leave she was sure her feet would not let her. She was finally at the door. She raised her hand and paused. Could she really do this? Kagome found herself met with determination. She took a deep breath and softly knocked on the door.

"Enter," came the masculine voice on the other side of the door.

Kagome firmly grabbed the handle to the door and made it open. Once she was inside she felt herself grow even more concerned. There he stood at the foot of the bed in only his long white pants and his kimono shirt hanging slightly open. All his armor and weapons were off. She had not seen him like this before and she could admit to herself that it took her breath away.

"See something you like Lady Kagome?" he asked with a smirk on his face.

"Nothing that I can't find in any other man," she replied with her head held high.

"Hmh, so you believe."

"Are you suggesting, sir, that I could not find another man with your body or better?"

"That is what I am implying."

"Sorry to disappoint you sir, but I believe you are wrong."

"I guess we will just have to wait and see then, won't we?"

"Did you ask me here just to taunt me or do we actually have something to discuss?"

"Yes, I would actually like to talk to you about Rin."

"She truly is a wonderful and adorable girl."

"Yes, I know. I became aware of the fact that you were not informed of my…"

"That you had a daughter?"

"Yes."

"That is correct, Rin informed me that you are her adopted father. Forgive me, but I do not quite understand that situation."

"What situation?"

"Well, situation is not quiet the right word for me to use. I should say that I do not understand some facts."

"Which are?"

"Well, Rin is human and if I recall your first response to our marriage agreement was that you would not marry a human. You made your point very clear as to why."

"Yes, I believe I did. So what exactly is your question Lady Kagome?"

"How did you come to adopt Rin?"

"I found her," he stated flatly.

"You found her?"

"Yes, I was out on a mission for my father. She was abandoned and alone. I took her in with much persistence."

"Ah, so you did not take her in of your own free will."

"No, I had complete choice of the matter. But…she interested me. Plus a young girl following you around can be quite bothersome. Her meeting my mother also had not helped the situation any. I adopted her because she would go to no one but this Sesshomaru."

"So, in other words you found feelings for a low human girl, in your words of course."

Sesshomaru gave Kagome a warning look. She knew she had just found out something that he did not want the rest of the world knowing. This told her a little bit more about the cold hearted demon. Maybe his father has the hopes of her completely changing his heart. Rin was the first sign that his heart could be changed. Kagome's concern now was if she will be able to do exactly what Lord Taishou is hoping.

"Is that all you wanted to talk about?"

"No, there is one more thing. This Sesshomaru will be discussing the letter received from the Southwestern lands with my father tomorrow. I would like you to be there."

"Ah, I see. Very well I will see you tomorrow morning."

With that said Kagome made her way out of his chambers. Once out she felt herself relax completely. Tomorrow was definitely going to be a challenge. She was even surprised that Sesshomaru had taken her advice to speak with his father. No doubt that her father would be present as well. After all this was a matter concerning all of the lands. They still need to find out where all the other lands loyalties lie. But for now all Kagome wanted to do was sleep and that was exactly what she was going to do.

The next morning Kagome found herself in Lord Taishou's study quicker than she imagined. It was not long after breakfast when she was tracked down and asked to go to his study. When she had arrived Sesshomaru and her father were both already present. She was greeted with a smile from Lord Taishou and her father, but Sesshomaru never turned around. She made her way in front of the desk ready for the conversation to start.

"So what exactly are we all doing here Sesshomaru?" asked Lord Taishou in a calm yet firm voice.

"We are here for this father," Sesshomaru stated flatly as he tossed the letter onto his father's desk. Taishou started to unfound it and began to read it. Once he was done he passed it to Lord Ryuu. They both then turned to Sesshomaru.

"Well this is a predicament," stated Lord Ryuu with a sigh. "What do you think we can do to help them Taishou?"

"That is hard to say. I would like to aid them, but there is always the possibility of it being a trick. Which I am sure we are all aware of in this very room. And the question still remains of who exactly is on our side."

"From my understanding the Northern Kingdom is on our side," stated Ryuu. "I can guarantee that the Northeastern lands are also on our side, even if they are human."

"But even though they are human they have the strongest priest and priestess," Kagome reminded.

"Yes, which we can use to our advantage because the Southern Lords subjects are demon."

"What of the rest of the lands father?" asked Kagome.

"That is our question. The Northwestern Lands are being governor and the same goes for the Northeastern Lands, the Southwestern Lands, and the Southeastern Lands. We know for a fact where the four kingdoms lie. Obviously the Northern King, and ourselves, have come together. The problem is that with this declaration of rebellion from the Southern Lord we can not expect our lands, that are governor, to obey our orders. The Southern Lord has opened the door of rebellion and confusion in all four kingdoms. All we can do is predict the answers of those governor lands. The Northwestern Land's subjects are demon. The same is said for the Southeastern Lands. The Northeastern Land's subjects are human, but the Southwestern Land's subjects are mixed."

"This is why we have spies going into the each area to see if we can find out where the subjects and the governments stand," Taishou included.

"Yes, sadly though our spies have not returned with much information. According to them the Southern Lord has been quiet, but I fear that the silence they are hearing and seeing is not what is really occurring."

"You think that he is building up his army?" Kagome questioned to make sure she was following his thoughts correctly.

"Yes, but also other things. He is also building allies. We will have brother fighting against brother and sister fighting against sister."

"Yes, and there will be much blood shed if we do not stop this act of rebellion," Lord Taishou said with a sad voice. "The question is why is the Southern Lord doing this."

"That is the question we all have my friend."

"Wait, are you informing me that we do not know of the cause of this act?" Kagome asked amazed.

"Yes, my daughter. That is correct."

"What reason could he have? Has anyone tried to contact him?"

"We have all tried. He refuses to answer. And as to your previous question we have no idea. You see we established this order way before you were born and before Sesshomaru was born. You see my dear, in the past land was claimed. Back then it was not a problem because it was just us demons living on the earth, or so we thought. Not long the humans came. All demons split in half…"

"More like groups Ryuu," Taishou interrupted.

"Yes, more like groups. Every demon met with his own kind. The wolves banded together, the dogs, the dragons, the ones of nature, the cats, and so on. Each group getting smaller and smaller, but then you have the rebellious demons. The ones that wanted to eat and destroy the humans. The ones that wanted to return the lands to what they were before. The lives we had before. You see we have fought many wars and had come to agreements. But when the humans came that caused an unbalanced between us. Some humans were accepting of us, as we were of them. As I said before though there were some demons who did not want the humans and some humans that did not want the demons. We were unknown to them and they were unknown to us. It was clear we were more advance in more ways than one, but the humans had some strong qualities of their own. Anyway to make a long story short we united. We came to the agreement to make the lands into four sections. The North, South, East and West. Each land was assigned a Lord and then we made governors. We made a fine government."

"But what does all of this have to do with the Lord of the South?" asked Kagome.

"You could say that he was one of the found fathers my dear. He helped make the land what it is today. He helped us create peace and he just as for peace as we were. This is where our confusion comes in."

"I see…well something has changed the Lord of the South. We need to find out what exactly changed him before we can understand his motives, but that is not going to be a difficult task. Something has taken place or has been happening in the Lands of the South right under our noses. This is where the problem came from."

"Your daughter is wise. You have raised her well."

"Thank you Taishou and yes Kagome you are correct. We have been looking for changes and so one, but nothing is coming up. Whatever has happened has been kept well hidden. But as for the matter of the Southwestern subjects, what do you suppose we do Taishou?"

"Hmm…I'm afraid there is only one thing we can do. I will send Sesshomaru out to look at the situation himself. He will evaluate the situation and make a decision there."

"Very well…I suppose that is our only option. We will have to send two other people with him only though. We do not know what troubles he may come across and having extra allies with you is never bad."

"This is true. Sesshomaru who will you take?"

"I will take Shin and…"

"And me!" Kagome spoke up confidently.

"Kagome?"

"Father please, if I am to become the Lady of these lands I must earn the peoples trust and respect. I can not stay safe behind stone walls. I am not a weak animal you can cage in. I know how to fight and both Sesshomaru and Inuyasha have said that."

"This Sesshomaru will not take a human, much less a girl onto this mission."

"A girl?" exclaimed Kagome. "I am not a girl! I am a woman and one that can fight and one that can do whatever she pleases. You do not control me Sesshomaru and you had best remember that."

"You dare talk back to this Sesshomaru?" Sesshomaru said with a slight rise of his voice.

"Yes, I do."

"You will not disobey this Sesshomaru. You will remain here. I do not have the time or the patiences to look after you and protect you on this mission."

"I can take care of myself and you need a human with you. After all the subjects are mixed and you will be received better with a human by your side."

"You will not…"

"Sesshomaru!" Taishou exclaimed cutting off his eldest son. "She will accompany you on this mission. She has made several points and many of them will not only benefit her, but you as well."

Sesshomaru was enraged at his father, but he kept his cold face as usual and remained silent. Taishou knew that Kagome was making very good points and hopefully this mission could bring her and his son closer together. Besides he had hopes for Kagome and he was certain that she would not let him down. He looked over at his friend and he gave a nod of approval. He knew that he was concerned for his daughter's safety, but he also knew that Sesshomaru would never allow anything to happen to Kagome.

"Very well it is decided. You will leave early in the morning tomorrow. It is a three days journey to the location of the village. And I suspect that you will run into other situations along the way. You are dismissed."

With that said everyone left the study without a word. Sesshomaru stormed off. Even though it did not look it on the outside, Kagome knew that he was a raging storm on the inside. She had learn much about him, but at the same time very little. She and her father left together to go find her mother, for they wanted to spend time with each other before Kagome's departure.

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Review please! It is very encouraging. Let me know what you think. I will try to update soon again :)


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